A weekly address from Patrick Adams,
President of St. Louis Community Credit Union

Take a Sunday Drive to Kepler-296f

A little over a week ago, NASA scientists (a group with whom I have no similarities), announced that they had discovered 715 new planets. That’s a big find given that it now moves the total “planet” count to more than double its previous total.

I’ve been busy with other stuff, but this pronouncement that we now have somewhere around 1,700 planets outside of our solar system seems like a big deal. I remember them taking Pluto off the planet list, but adding this many new ones should have garnered more ink than a small mention, buried deep inside, on the bottom left of a national newspaper.

A couple of points made in the press release caught my interest. Apparently, four of these worlds are roughly the size of Earth, and may be the proper temperature for liquid water to form and therefore are potentially suitable for life. And here’s your mindbender for the day – because of their reasonable size to Earth, these planets’ force of gravity would be relatively comfortable for creatures like humans. Water & comfort – sounds like a resort destination. So, maybe (just maybe) there are other beings out there. I sure hope they are less screwed up than we are.

One of these planets is called Kepler-296f, which proves that scientists should not be allowed to name planets. Immediately upon finding a planet, the world of science should call in an ad agency firm to name it. Better yet, call in “The Donald.” He’s been looking for a planet to round out his real estate holdings. Let’s see – they can call it “Trump.” Anything but Kepler-296f. Scientists, astronomers and data analysts should find and confirm these really cool discoveries, but an ad agency should immediately take over from there and name it. Like Trump, it can be marketed and set up to make a buck – after all, this is the American way.

Back to my earlier point, I sure hope that whoever lives on the yet to be properly named planet does a better job with their culture than we do with ours. Oh, come on man, we’re a mess. I hope they take care of their water and their air. I hope that they treat each other with respect and love. I hope that their political correctness doesn’t get in the way of their common sense. I hope that they have Girl Scout cookies and a McDonalds where special orders are prohibited in the drive-thru. I hope that they have freedom and that their system of government to protect such freedoms is not as dysfunctional as ours. I hope that their elected officials in Congress serve their constituents’ interests.

Imagine a society where differences are embraced – where we all get along and are respectful. Maybe on their “rock,” the newscasts are filled with the good of the day. Maybe, love drives decisions there instead of ideology or selfishness. Maybe, on their planet everybody says “please,” “thank you,” “yes ma’am,” and “yes sir.”

Seriously, I guess we need to take a Sunday drive to Kepler-296f and see what’s happening – it might be fun to start fresh.

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Patrick has been employed with St. Louis Community Credit Union for more than 30 years. As a Community Development Financial Institution, St. Louis Community offers safe and affordable loans, second chance checking accounts and branches in underserved areas as part of its overall community giveback. Patrick is proud to be associated with nearly 200 employees who have a laser-like focus on service to our members and the community. Learn more at stlouiscommunity.com